Pruning implement



(NO Model.)

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GIDEON LE SAGE, OF LOS ANGELES', CALIFORNIA.

PRUNING IM PLEMENT.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,890, dated January 4, 1898.

I I Application illed April 24, 1897. erial No. 633,81Q. (No model.)

T0 (/,VZZ whom it may conc'crn:

Be it known that I, GIDEON LE SAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los An-` geles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and use ful Improvements in Pruning Implements, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the peculiar form of the cutting'blades and also to the combinations and parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The object is to afford greater case and con- Venience for cuttin g the larger as well as the' smaller liinbs.

The accompanyin g drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my newlyinventedimplement. Solid lines show the parts in the open position and dotted lines show them in the closed position. Fig. 2 is a plan of the implement.

A A' indicate the eutting hlades or knives, pivoted at l to the main handle B. These knives are of an elbow or U shape, and the pivotl passes through the bla-des at the elbows or bends thereof, the edge a a' of each being bent so that when the blades are open, as indicated in solid lines in Fig. l, the two edges form opposite sides of a U, and the shanks a 0] of the blades or knives, respectively, project upward and outward from the pivct 1.

O C' indicate two levers respectively connected by connecting-rods c c' with the shanks a a' of the hlades A and A', respectively. The levers O and O' are pivoted to the handle B by the pivot 2 and are arranged to project atright angles substantially with the handle B when the blades A A' are open. The connectingi'ods c c' cross t-he plane of the handle between their levers and their knife-shanks, respeetively, and connect the levers with the oppositely-disposed shanks of the blades, so that the downward movement of the levers will close the blades, and vice versa.

D is a suitable slide or sleeve arranged to slide upon the handle B and connected with the levers C O' by connecting-rods d d', so that .when the sliding handle D is drawn .downward the hlades will he drawn together. The sliding handle D is placed a shor't distance below the ley'ers C O', and a sliding handle D' is provided at the lower end of the liandle B to slide therealong. This lower sliding handle D'I is connected with the upper sliding handle D by connecting-rods cl, so that the appliance can be operated by the hand of the operator close to the end of the handle of the implement or close to the level-s O and O'. Thns they may be used at greater or less heights.

b indicates a groove in the handle B to Chamber the connecting-rods d, which connect the handles D and D'. One of these rods and grooves is provided on each side of the applianc, so that draft upon the handles will be balanced. The groove b seats the conn necting-rod c sufficiently to allow the same to be slid up and down in the groove while the operator is holding the handle in his hand,

`with the hand grasping the handle around the grcoved port-ion.

The slidin g handles D and D' are preferably tubular and flare at the lower end to afiord a good handhold. b' indicates a ferrule at the upper end of the handle. This ferrule is slotted, as at b, and the U-shaped knives fit in the slot, Where they are fastened by the pivot.

In practical operation the implement is brought into position so that the limb to be cut enters the U -shaped opening between the blades and one or the other of the handles D D' is pulled down, thus to forcibly draw the edges of the blades toward each other.

The edges of the blades clasp the limb and prevent any danger of its slipping out from between the blades until cut.

The upper sleeve D is provided with outfi wardly-projecting ears 3 4, into which the rods d d' are fastened, and with holes 5 for the ends of the rods CZ Virtually in the same horizontal plane with the cars, so that the draft will not cause the sleei-'e to bind on the main handle.

' Now, having described my iuvention, what i 

